How Long Do Germs Live On A Door Handle

The survival time for bacteria is more variable.

How long do germs live on a door handle.

Enveloped viruses including herpes influenza and coronavirus generally remain infectious for hours or days rather than months. On clothing or skin the survival time is roughly halved. Difficile has been found to survive for up to five months. Salmonella only lasts four hours but mrsa can last several weeks and c.

Non enveloped viruses such as adenovirus and rhinovirus which cause cold like symptoms and hepatitis a can live for up to three months on contaminated surfaces. Think about the things you touch multiple times a day doorknobs sinks cabinet handles refrigerator doors remote controls and how many germs are lingering on those surfaces that you may. But there is evidence. Cold viruses don t survive as long usually a few hours.

The coronavirus can live 2 to 3 days on those surfaces. The journal of hospital infection s review of 22 studies about how long human coronaviruses can live on inanimate objects found they survive four days on wood and glass two to nine days on. Flu viruses can survive on hard surfaces like bus poles and infect another person for 24 to 48 hours she says. It is believed that door handles provide a suitable environment for the disease to spread on as the virus can survive on these metallic surfaces from 2 up to 8 hours.

Another study concluded the virus can survive even longer up to 9 days on some surfaces. In theory that means you could contact a door knob an infected person touched 3 days ago and still transfer the virus to your own body.